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BOSTON, Mass. – On the first day of the 2013 Beacons Invitational, volleyball suffered a pair of losses as they were defeated by another regionally ranked opponent in Endicott College and first-time opponent Haverford College (Pa.) Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center Gym.

In the opener UMB was defeated by the Gulls of Endicott by the final of 3-1 (23-25, 26-24, 20-25, 18-25) before falling to the Fords who traveled to Boston all the way from Pennsylvania in a marathon of a match (25-17, 16-25, 26-28, 30-28, 10-15).

Despite the pair of losses the Beacons did have a moment to celebrate as senior hitter Corrine Porter (Huntington Beach, Calif.) set the all-time program record for digs by a four-year UMass Boston player. With her combined 31 digs in the two matches, Porter now stands at 1,204 career digs, breaking the original program mark set by Shannon Thompson '13 last season. Also walking away with a record performance was freshman Elizabeth Glavan (Edina, Minn.) as she set the program mark for most digs in a five game match with 39, which she recorded against Haverford. The Beacons as a whole tied the program mark for most digs in a five game match as a team with 100, which they also reached in their match with the Fords.

In the first match a trio of Beacons finished with 10 or more kills led by Porter's team-high 15. Senior Megan Pollock (Wilton, Calif.) notched a career-best 45 assists in the loss, and scored two of the Beacons face aces. Defensively, Glavan posted 23 digs, while Porter finished with the Beacon's only double-double coming up with 16 digs. Combined UMB recorded 10 block assists in the loss, with Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) responsible for three of those.

As a squad the Beacons hit .237 against their non-conference rivals, but it was the Gulls who led the match as they recorded a hitting percentage of .312. After Endicott managed to sneak by with a 25-23 win in game one, the Beacons battled back in game two to take a 26-24 victory. Unfortunately the third game was controlled mostly by Endicott which earned them a 25-20 decision. The fourth game, UMB tried to rally late but could not overcome a huge deficit falling to the Gulls 25-18.

In the second match of the day, which went over two hours the Beacons faced first-time opponent and top contender in the Centennial Conference in Haverford College. It was a wild match from start to finish that could have truly gone either way.

After a dominant win in the first game with UMB earning a 25-17 win, the Fords managed to pick-up back-to-back victories in the form of a 25-16 decision in the second game and a 28-26 decision in the third. With their backs up against the wall, the Beacons dug deep in the fourth and edged out the Fords to take a 30-28 decision forcing the decisive fifth game.

Looking as if their comeback in the fourth would carry them into the fifth, the Beacons struggled early and with a pair of big runs by the Ford, saw their chance at a day one split slip through their fingers.

Just like the first match UMB multiple players finish with 10+ digs, this time it was freshman Julia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) leading the offense for UMB with her 15 kills. Behind her it was Morrison and Amber Clemons (Simi Valley, Calif.) with 11 each and then Patsy Boland (Chicago, Ill.) with 10. Bri Sousa (Swansea, Mass.) hit a team-lead .357 in the match but it was once again her play at the net that stood out as she finished with a pair of solo blocks to go along with three block assists.

Pollock was solid all match tallying a new career-best in less than 24 hours, this time putting up a total 56 assists. Also setting a new career-best was Glavan as the Minnesota native tallied 39 digs in the five-set battle. Porter notched 15 digs, while Christine DuPuis (Minden, Nev.) and Pollock finished with 11 each.

Volleyball returns to action tomorrow when they face Babson College at 2 p.m. followed by a 6 p.m. match with Colby-Sawyer College.